Synthesis of highly luminescent fluorinated graphene quantum dots with tunable fluorine coverage and size

• Bulk fluorinated graphite is effectively transformed into fluorescent fluorinated graphene quantum dots by a designed exfoliation and cutting process.
• The fluorine contents and sizes of the obtained fluorinated graphene quantum dots can be tuned by adjusting the reaction conditions.
• The obtained fluorinated graphene quantum dots exhibit uniform size, enjoy good solubility in water and display brightly blue emission.
• Thin and transparent fluorinated graphene sheets can also be readily obtained by our method.

Synthesizing fluorinated graphene quantum dots (FGQDs) has been a great challenge due to the chemically inert C-F bond, and few attempts have been made to prepare this material. In this article, a novel, mild and effective method to controllably prepare FGQDs with tunable fluorine coverage and size by employing commercial fluorinated graphite is developed. This method avoids the complex procedures of preparing fluorinated graphene and use of toxic gases, and can be realized under mild conditions. Moreover, the obtained FGQDs possess relatively uniform size, enjoy good solubility and stability in water and exhibit highly bright blue luminescence.

Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slide